Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., warned Defense Secretary James Mattis not to cancel enlistment contracts with 1,800 foreign-born recruits, The Washington Examiner reported.
The deal with the recruits allows them to fast-track their U.S. citizenship in exchange for their needed language and cultural skills. Warner said any attempt to cancel the contract would be met with "strong, swift action" on Capitol Hill, according to the website.
His warning comes as a proposal, which cites security risks, is circulating in the Pentagon calling for the U.S. to back out of the deal set up under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, or MAVNI.
"If we fail to uphold the contracts we have made with MAVNI applicants, this will not only have a significantly deleterious effect on recruiting, it will also be met with a strong, swift congressional reaction," said Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
The proposal to cancel the contract was prepared by personnel and intelligence officials. It also raises the possibility that another 4,100 troops, most of whom are naturalized citizens, could face "enhanced screening," according to The Washington Post.
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